lurked; lurking; lurks
1
a
: to lie in wait in a place of concealment especially for an evil purpose
someone out there lurking in the shadows
b
: to move furtively or inconspicuously
shall I lurk about this country like a thief?—
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding
c
: to persist in staying
the excitement of the first act still lurking in the air—Richard Fletcher
Richard FletcherSomething about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Ron, and Hermione very nervous.—J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling2
a
: to be concealed but capable of being discovered
specifically
: to constitute a latent threat
What evil lurks in the hearts of men?
b
: to lie hidden
Malaria lurked in the marshes.
3
: to read messages without contributing on an Internet discussion forum (see forum sense 1c) (such as a newsgroup or chat room) or social media platform (such as Facebook or Twitter)
You can tweet as much as you want or lurk without comment, though consistent tweeting and audience engagement are key to attracting and keeping followers.—Charlotte Abbott
Charlotte AbbottSynonyms
Examples of lurk in a Sentence
She could tell there was someone out there lurking in the shadows.
we caught a glimpse of someone lurking around the corner
Recent Examples on the Web
Behind these righteous pronouncements, though, lurked Storer’s unspoken fear: that if men like him did not intervene, middle-class wives would shirk their childbearing duties, leaving their husbands without heirs while poor and immigrant families swelled their ranks.
—TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Seeking to discredit what became a special counsel inquiry, Mr. Trump and his allies floated conspiracy theories that misconduct by intelligence agencies lurked in the origins of the Russia investigation.
—Alan Feuer, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
But behind the scenes of neutral Switzerland, the secret agents of the world powers are lurking in Davos.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
That indicated the lava might be relatively fresh — the first hint that an undetected volcano might be lurking nearby.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
Microsoft’s variety of products, like cloud services and personal computing, touch a lot of different markets and competition seems to lurk around every corner.
—Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 24 Mar. 2024
Even assuming that Ohtani is ultimately found to be utterly clean of illicit betting, a new scandal, perhaps even more devastating, almost certainly lurks on the horizon.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
But beneath that indignation lurked something else—a nagging anxiety coaxed into sharper visibility by the therapeutic aura of Kafka’s sleek analytic couch.
—Leslie Jamison, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
The fear of loss, of losing not just the Royals but also the dynasty-in-rising Chiefs, lurks in the minds of many voters.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2024
TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Seeking to discredit what became a special counsel inquiry, Mr. Trump and his allies floated conspiracy theories that misconduct by intelligence agencies lurked in the origins of the Russia investigation.
—Alan Feuer, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
But behind the scenes of neutral Switzerland, the secret agents of the world powers are lurking in Davos.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
That indicated the lava might be relatively fresh — the first hint that an undetected volcano might be lurking nearby.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
Microsoft’s variety of products, like cloud services and personal computing, touch a lot of different markets and competition seems to lurk around every corner.
—Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 24 Mar. 2024
Even assuming that Ohtani is ultimately found to be utterly clean of illicit betting, a new scandal, perhaps even more devastating, almost certainly lurks on the horizon.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
But beneath that indignation lurked something else—a nagging anxiety coaxed into sharper visibility by the therapeutic aura of Kafka’s sleek analytic couch.
—Leslie Jamison, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
The fear of loss, of losing not just the Royals but also the dynasty-in-rising Chiefs, lurks in the minds of many voters.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lurk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near lurk
Cite this Entry
“Lurk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lurk. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lurk
verb1
a
: to stay in or about a place secretly
b
: to move quietly and secretly
2
: to lie concealed
especially
: to be a hidden threat
lurker
noun
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